Oil Prices Decline Nearly 2% as Investors Monitor Developments in the Red Sea
Oil prices experienced a nearly 2% decline on Wednesday, reversing the gains from the previous day. The drop was attributed to ongoing concerns about the Red Sea situation, where shippers are returning despite additional attacks.
Brent crude futures settled down at $79.65 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $74.11. Danish shipping company Maersk and France’s CMA CGM have announced plans to resume travel through the Red Sea, despite recent attacks by Yemen’s Houthi militia.
The market is closely monitoring the situation to assess the impact on shipping and supply disruption.
The prospect of a prolonged Israeli military campaign in Gaza remained a major driver of market sentiment.
Israeli forces pummelled central Gaza by land, sea and air on Wednesday, a day after Israel’s Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi told reporters the war would go on “for many months”.
Elsewhere, oil loadings at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk were suspended because of a storm. However, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) terminal near the port was open, Kazakhstan’s energy ministry said.
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U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week by 1.84 million barrels, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures on Wednesday.
U.S. government data on stockpiles is due on Thursday.
Oil output in Russia, the third largest producer in the world after the United States and Saudi Arabia, is expected to be steady or even to increase next year as Moscow has largely overcome Western sanctions, analysts said.
